Muggles and Marauders
by SparrowWriter
Summary: A tale of Hogwarts in the time of Lily and James, this details a long and often catastrophic day in the lives of the Marauders (and Lily). The chapters are short (8 out of 12 so far), so please read, review, and enjoy! :)
1. Platform 9 3/4

Gazing wearily at the gates of King's Cross Station, Lily Evans sighed. "Don't worry, dear," her mother murmured, gently putting a hand on Lily's shoulder. "You have all the things on that list - there must be a platform 9 and 3/4 here somewhere." But even Mrs. Evans looked hesitant, one hand being drawn indefinitely back to their car. All Muggles, somewhere inside them, always had an incredible sense of disbelief for the magical world - even when their children had proved to be wizards or witches.  
  
Yet there was hope. Lily caught it, an impatient ear listening to the lull of the crowd. "Now, my dear," a determined voice sounded, "you know what to do for the platform, don't you? You saw that boy Peter do it - and a good wizard like you will be a natural." Wizard! Her heart pounded, and she continued to listen. "When you get there, you MUST be polite to your professors. Especially that Minerva McGonagall - when she was a student she was bad enough, but she's bound to have gotten worse."  
  
Lily turned her head slightly, just enough to see the speaker, but not enough to bring the suspicion of eavesdropping. A tall, dark-haired woman, her face flushed from talking so much and so quickly, was addressing a boy Lily's age, probably her son. The boy himself didn't seem to be paying much attention, peering into the endless space above him and pausing every so often to straighten his seemingly always messy black hair. "Yes, Mum," he muttered abstractly, turning his gaze toward the woman.  
  
"Good, my little Jamie," she replied cheerfully. The boy turned an odd shade of red and clenched his teeth with annoyance. "Now, don't be a troublemaker - and do try to get Gryffindor. We all have, for generations, and we just can't have you stopping the trend." With the neccessary goodbyes - no doubt hastened by the eager boy - he paused at the thick wall between platform 9 and 10. Before Lily could blink, the boy had disappeared.  
  
"Mother, did you see that?" Lily hissed, turning back to her own parents. "He went right through the wall!" She grinned brightly. "I suppose..." she began, hesistant. "I should try it too. Wouldn't want a concussion before my first day of school, however..." With a slight wave, she drew up her bags and bid them a hardly tearful farewell. Taking a deep breath, she ran cautiously into the wall. In an instant, she was on the other side, nearly face to face with the black-haired boy. "I - I'm Lily Evans," she murmured, nodding her head in greeting.  
  
He grinned a little, then nodded as well. "My name is Potter." The boy's already evident British accent grew more exaggerated, and he smirked slyly at Lily. "James Potter."  
  
A/N: Ending edited by the idea of a reviewer. :) Chapter 8 will be up REALLY soon... 


	2. Two New Enemies

"Can I take one of those bags?" James offered coyly, drawing out his hand. Exhausted by the weight of them all, Lily gratefully passed one of her satchels over to the boy. "I see your family isn't very good at magically...lightening...these...bags..." he muttered, pushing out the words as he shouldered an especially large satchel, filled to the brim with textbooks. "Actually, I'd say you were quite a stranger to the wizarding world, judging by the bit of help you needed from my mum," he laughed, as Lily flushed a deep shade of red.  
  
"I - I didn't mean to..." she squeaked, looking nervous. "I didn't think you'd hear, and, anyway, my parents aren't...er..."  
  
"Muggle-born, then," James murmured understandingly. "That would explain it. Your parents probably didn't think you'd ever get here at all. If it weren't for my mother, giving me another of her endless lectures, you might never have passed through the barrier." He paused, then gave Lily a sly grin. "I guess those lectures aren't always bad things."   
  
"I really should go now," Lily insisted, hesitantly grabbing back her bag. "You know, get good seats on the train and everything." She began to head toward the mob of students, but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. "Yes James?" Lily replied evenly, then turned to face him.  
  
"Do you need anyone to show you around? I'm always there to help a damsel in distress," he announced, grinning impishly.  
  
Astounded, Lily gave him a look of scorn. "Potter, those…Muggle… boys are truly no worse than you!" she sputtered.  
  
"I'll take that as a compliment," he replied, grinning. "You know, I think you've really found a permanent tormentor." She shook her head sadly, in the way one does when observing such 'childish behaviour'. "Yes, Miss Lily Evans," he called after her rapidly disappearing figure, which was edging towards the train. "I believe you'll be seeing quite a lot of me."  
  
With that, James himself moved into the crowd, bumping into a mischievous-looking boy with dark hair and a sinister smile. Facing James, the boy grinned widely, extended his hand, and uttered a single word. "Black."  
  
"Black?" James repeated, quite confused.  
  
"Black. The hardly serious Sirius Black, at your service, mister -?"   
  
"Potter," he replied abstractly. "Yes, I'm James Potter, and what in the world are you?"  
  
"Quite a first impression," Sirius scoffed. "Don't want to try and make friends?"  
  
"My first impressions make me friends," James reasoned, taking the boy's hand and immediately suffering a harsh electric shock. "Looks like you've got me beaten on first impressions, however," he laughed. "Silly Muggle thing, anyway. Well, I'm on a roll! Second enemy I've made today."  
  
"Oh, so I wasn't the first?" Sirius murmured, trying to sound hurt.  
  
"No, that honour belongs to Lily Evans. Poor Muggle-born girl. Too bad she crossed paths with James Potter," James chuckled.  
  
Sirius paused, putting his hand back to his side. "I think we'll have a grand friendship, don't you?" he said after a while.  
  
James snickered and pondered as well. "Yeah, and I think I'll marry that Evans girl someday." At this, both boys chuckled uncontrollably, and the bell for final loading of the Hogwarts Express sounded.  



	3. Frustration and Fortune Tellers

"Boys," Lily scoffed under her breath, trudging into the crowded train. Voices echoed on all sides of her, chattering mindlessly about things and people she'd never heard of. Quite exhausted from a long day of traveling and searching, she sighed and sat down wearily, tossing her bags to her feet.   
  
"What about them?" piped a curious voice to her left. Turning, Lily came face to face with a tall, wispy girl with glasses much too big for her framing a drawn and mysterious expression. "Usually disconnected from the spiritual world, I say. I personally think they've all been born under a particularly unfavourable star arrangement. Of course," she paused, grinning strangely, "that's just me. Speaking of me, my name is Sybil." She extended a thin hand, covered with about a dozen bracelets at the wrist. "Sybil Trelawney."   
  
Lily shook the girl's cold hand and was about to speak, when Sybil violently interrupted her. "Don't," she warned, her eyes growing distant. Suddenly, she jerked Lily's hand, still poised in her grasp, and peered into it. "Ah," Sybil whispered, her voice flowing in and through Lily, making her feel strangely icy and frightened. "I can see, my red-haired acquaintance, all about you. I see your past, your present," she paused, eyes growing wide with something like terror. Her whispered tone grew even softer, and her voice pushed out the words eerily. "And your future, my dear. Am I right, in saying, my dear, that you are from a long line of wizards and witches, and that your name is?" She paused, thinking, searching Lily's hand for something specific. "Sarah?" Sybil guessed weakly, the sense of magic and mysteriousness gone from her tone and expression.   
  
"My name is Lily Evans," she announced clearly, pulling her hand from Sybil's grasp. "No one in my family," Lily paused, not used to being so direct or matter-of-fact, "except myself, of course, has a bit of magic in them, Miss Trelawney. If you would be so kind not to assume - or rather, use your power," she added hastily, trying to be polite, "to divine such things about me, we might develop a better friendship." After this little speech was over, she breathed, more weary than she had ever been before.   
  
"I see you're a bit more courageous than I'd predict," Sybil murmured, articulating the last word with a small flair. "Just wait!" She half-stood and twirled a little, grinning. "I'm sure you'll get Gryffindor. I see myself as more of a Ravenclaw, actually..." Her voice faded off, and once again Lily was confused at this talk of the wizarding world.   
  
"Gryffindor?" Lily queried quietly, remembering the word from Mrs. Potter's lecture to her son. "Ravenclaw?" she asked hopelessly in the same tone, both of them seeming absolutely hogwash to her. "What in the world are you going on about, Sybil?"   
  
"Houses," Sybil whispered, seeming almost awestruck at the word. Of course, as Lily was learning and would grow used to in the future, Sybil said nearly everything in that tone. "Four houses, where we all shall live and learn... All of them are very prestigious, of course, my mother has told me so. But I," she murmured, gesturing broadly to the empty space around her, "can tell such things, of course. There's Gryffindor, for the brave." Lily was astounded that anyone would think her brave, though she didn't doubt the outspoken James would have any trouble getting in.   
  
"Then there's Ravenclaw, for those whose wit and intelligence surpasses all others." Sybil paused, and, grinning, drew her wispy figure up haughtily. "Hufflepuff is for those who are good friends through and through, and Slytherin is nearly the opposite." She sneered and pushed up her oversized glasses. "Though they are rather cunning," she admitted. Suddenly, with a deafening lurch, the Hogwarts Express began to move, and Lily had begun her journey to an entirely new life...   



	4. Sirius Speaks

Quickly drawing up their various luggage and book bags, Sirius and James hastily fled to board the train. "I heard," Sirius hissed into James' ear, as they finally stopped and began to load into the car, "that if you're late for boarding, they make you walk all the way to Hogwarts." Grinning broadly, he added, "But that's not the worst part. Then they make you eat nothing but bread and butter for the opening feast and send you to sleep in that horrible forest. Then they..."  
  
"Hang on a minute!" James interrupted harshly. "None of this seems terribly...credible. Where do you get all this information, anyway?" he pressed as the boys sat down. "And who, exactly, are 'they'?"  
  
"Them," Sirius intoned darkly. "And what planet have you been living on, Potter? Of course I know all there is to know of our fine school. I," he stressed the world importantly, "am Sirius Black, of the fine Brighton Blacks, heir to the most respected and knowledgeable students Hogwarts ever had!" He finished with a flair, a smug smirk plastered across his face.  
  
"No," James began, incredulously, "I don't believe I've heard of any Brighton Blacks...Though I think I've heard of the boastful ones," he added, sneering.  
  
Sirius glared at him for a long moment, then sighed. "Well, actually, I just made that up," he admitted. "Truth be told, my mum's a Muggle. Dad was ready to call in the Daily Prophet when they found I had magic in me. Of course, my magic is nothing to laugh at." With a quick twirl of a wand, previously hidden among his bags, Sirius shot a spray of pumpkin juice toward an angry-looking boy who, though faced cautiously away, was listening intently to their conversation.  
  
In a flash, the boy turned, his face redder than his newly orange robes. "You aren't to use magic," he spat, shooting Sirius a piercing stare, "before we get to Hogwarts. You're bound to be in some awful trouble when we arrive, Mudblood."  
  
"Thanks, but I prefer magically challenged," Sirius murmured calmly, giving an air of innocence like none James had seen before. "Which, as you've seen," Sirius added, his voice going on with a peaceful certainty, "I'm most certainly not." He grinned, watching the boy's already horrible expression change into one of pure hatred. "Ah, yes," he continued, quite amused, "I'd actually say I have the advantage. If I had no power, I'd be readily welcomed into the Muggle world I've been raised in. Since I do, I'll be exposed to the life my ancestors used to live. Either way, I'll prosper, but there's no place in the world for a fool like you, no matter what you try to do."  
  
"I'll have you know," the boy sputtered, fuming from the speech and muttering a quick cleaning spell under his breath, "I'm no one you want to cross paths with. My family's been magical forever…and - and…remember my name," he warned, his face moving into what looked somewhere between a wince and a scowl. "I am Lucius Malfoy. And I shall see to it that you two -" Lucius continued, gesturing to Sirius and James, "shall never forget it."  
  
"Surely," Sirius retorted. "I'll have that written down in my day-planner, I will...'Eat breakfast, go to classes, remember Malfoy's name...'" With a growl, Lucius turned back in his seat.  
  
"That was...interesting," James said finally, after a long silence.  
  
"Wasn't it, though?" Sirius replied, a thin smile still curved on his face. "What fun this year shall bring."   
  



	5. Another Meeting

A/N: Thank you so much, Briavael, for Beta-Reading my story! And, of course, to all my readers, for reading and hopefully enjoying Muggles and Marauders...  
  
"Lily Evans?" a boy's voice, one Lily was sure she'd never heard before, echoed through the train. A bit frantically, she turned and searched the car for the source. "It's a dull name, rather," he continued dryly. Finally, her eyes focused on a thin, dark-haired boy a few rows up. With seemingly little else to do, she settled back into her seat and, without completely meaning to, absentmindedly listened in on the conversation. "You'd think that you'd find someone to taunt with a more interesting title. Something like Sirius Black, for instance."  
  
"A bit obsessed with yourself, aren't you?" The second voice was one she recognized. James Potter. It's all Lily could do to keep herself from crying out. "Anyhow," James continued, his voice low, "I think it's a nice name."  
  
"Nice?" the other, who she supposed was Sirius, echoed. "I didn't think that was a word in your vocabulary, James." Lily snickered under her breath. "You don't think my name is nice?" he murmured, feigning hurt.  
  
"Sorry, Sirius," James replied sarcastically. "Would you appreciate it more if I fell to my knees in awe and worshipped your very existence?"  
  
"Now that's more like it," Sirius said approvingly. "About the Evans girl…" He let the words fade with a hint of something like suspicion.  
  
"Yes, what about the Evans girl?" broke in Lily, unable to remain quiet. Both boys turned to look at her, and she regretted her comment almost instantly. Her mouth curved into a nervous grin. "Hi, Sirius," she murmured, mumbling the vowels with obvious embarrassment. "James." Lily nodded toward him uneasily.  
  
"So this is the Evans girl," Sirius muttered, mostly to himself. "I'm sorry," he continued politely. "It's Lily, isn't it?"  
  
"This lily will wilt if she doesn't mind her own business," James taunted in a songlike voice.  
  
Sirius gave him a sharp look. "To what do we owe this interruption, dear Lily?" he went on with an exceedingly large grin.  
  
"I just wanted to know…" Lily stuttered, feeling rather humiliated.   
  
"Ah, so she's sweet as well as blunt," Sirius murmured, well satisfied with himself. "I see why you like her, James."  
  
"I don't like her," James persisted in a grumble.  
  
"Don't mind little Jamie, there," Sirius hissed. "He's absolutely obsessed with you. Thinks about you all the time. He even thinks you're…" His voice lowered to a whisper. "Nice."  
  
"It's an improvement for James," Lily admitted with a sneer.  
  
"Ah, so she's developing a sense of humour!" Sirius cheered. "I knew it! I knew there was hope!" His voice rose and fell with exaggerated emotion.  
  
"May James speak for James now?" the aforementioned mumbled.   
  
"As you wish, Potter."   
  
"Well, James thinks Sirius and Lily are driving James absolutely crazy."  
  
"And why, exactly, is James speaking in the third person?" Lily giggled.  
  
Just then, a cart rattled into the car. "Snacks!" a high voice shrieked. "Chocolate frogs, Bertie Bott's, pumpkin juice!" The boys eagerly bought their share of snacks, but Lily was hesitant.  
  
"Chocolate frogs." Lily said the words with sheer disgust. "Those wouldn't happen to be made from real frogs, would they?"  
  
"We shall never know," James said ominously, biting into one.  
  
"Try a jelly bean," Sirius suggested, handing her an odd-looking gray one.  
  
Lily took the jelly bean delicately in her hands and ate it. She paused for a moment, then swallowed it whole, her face pale with disgust. "Was that…fish?"  
  
"Sardine, I believe," observed Sirius.  
  
"That's gross," Lily murmured eloquently.  
  
"Isn't it, though?" he replied with something like awe.  
  
The car shook with a deafening bang and Lily's newly purchased robes were drenched with pumpkin juice. Eager shrieks echoed through the train as trunks were lifted and footsteps sounded. With a shudder, the Hogwarts Express came to a complete stop.  



	6. A Mudblood?

Always a fan of commotion and overall displays of mayhem, Sirius grinned. With a mock-concerned look at the state of Lily's now-drenched dress robes, he raised his voice importantly. "Now, James," he murmured, caring to sound very responsible, "that's no way to treat a lady, is it? Go help Lily clean off her dress robes. It's the least you can do, being so rude to her and all."  
  
James looked up from his bags, which he was gathering neatly to leave the train, with a flinch. "Excuse me, Sirius," he replied, caring to avoid both the name and gaze of Lily, "but I personally think her eavesdropping was a bit more rude than anything I've done. Besides," his head turned back to back to his luggage and was about to lift it, "why don't you do it? You seem to get along better with her."  
  
"I can handle things myself, thank you," Lily said quietly, taking a handkerchief and fervently scrubbing at the cloth.  
  
Sirius gave her a meaningful glare. "Of course you can, Lily," he continued hastily, caring to emphasize her name and James' reluctance to do the same, "but it's not proper for such a dignified lady, especially one with such little knowledge of cleaning spells." A grin enveloped his face as he turned back to James. "Besides, Potter, I'm not the one trying to impress her."  
  
Turning, James' face turned a brilliant scarlet and he lost his patience completely. "I am not trying to impress her!" he insisted with a growl. " And it's hogwash that you aren't, what with your mentions of 'lady' here and 'sweet Lily' there. Why, she's nothing more than an eavesdropper and a filthy Mudblood!" The word got an instant reaction from Sirius, who seemed inches away from attacking James. Lily, however, remained silent, knowing the word was something bad but not exactly what.   
  
James let out a breath, face flushed with frustration and embarrassment. Luckily, the train was mostly empty, or else it was certain that a crowd would have formed to watch the excitement. He blinked. As if in sudden realization of what he had done, he looked down at the ground, careful not to make eye contact with either one of them. He didn't know why he'd said it, or why he was so defensive over how he felt, but it had just come out naturally. Now, he'd probably lose two of his potential friends, not to mention how the word would be spread. He could see the names now - "James, hater of Muggle-born, fit only to be a Slytherin, betrayer of his family's proud Gryffindor heritage." He shuddered.  
  
"I'm - I'm sorry," James muttered finally. But the words, usually never spoken by him, were genuine. Despite their faults, he truly cared for Sirius and Lily, and enjoyed their companionship. "About that spell, Evans…" Sirius gave him a meaningful look. "Er…Lily," he corrected himself awkwardly. "It's really rather simple." With this, he mumbled a few words under his breath, and with a wave of his wand the stain was gone.  
  
"Impressive," Lily admitted with a grin. "But I can never tell my sister about that one. She'd expect me to clean all her eternally dirty laundry." With this, her face moved into an expression of extreme displeasure, gathering laughter from both Sirius and James. "Well, it's true!" she insisted, evidently glad that the boys were in better moods. "Come on," she added, grinning, "it's getting late, and we can't miss the…what is it we do when we get there?"  
  
"The Sorting," James clarified. "Where they put a hat on us that tells us where we spend the rest of our years at Hogwarts."  
  
"A hat?" Lily replied with a giggle. Her eyes widened as she realized he was serious. "I personally don't feel safe leaving my fate up to a hat," she stated bluntly.  
  
"They've been doing it for centuries, Lily," Sirius explained cautiously. "And my family's turned out okay. I don't know about James over there…" James gave him a dark look, but even so, it was friendly. He'd obviously cooled down since his outburst. "Anyway, you shouldn't worry. That old hat is never wrong."  
  
As the conversation progressed, Lily addressing trivial wizarding things and James and Sirius explaining it all to her, the trio found themselves moving closer and closer to the rest of the first years. There, they stood before a large, jovial looking man, inhumanly tall and wide.   
  
"That's Hagrid," whispered James. "A generation or so back, he was expelled from Hogwarts, but Dumbledore - that's our headmaster," he added hastily, "hired him back as a gamekeeper and such. My mother says he's very nice, but…" At this, he gazed up at Hagrid's towering figure.  
  
"Looks can be deceiving," Lily reminded him with a grin.   
  
"I suppose so," James said reluctantly. "After all, when I saw you, I thought you were a mindless twit."  
  
"And?" Lily coaxed.  
  
"And," he continued brightly, "I was right."  
  
"Oh, Potter!" Lily lifted her heaviest bag and raised it threateningly.  
  
"Just kidding, Evans." James' mouth curved into a mocking smile. "Or, should I say," he went on, imitating Sirius' feigned grandeur with a bow, "dear Lily?"  
  
"Lily's fine," she confirmed. The two were so caught up in their own conversation that they didn't notice the first years steadily moving toward the cavernous lake ahead.  
  
"Come on, you two!" beckoned an unfamiliar voice ahead. "If you miss the boats, you might be left for the giant squid!"   
  
"The giant squid?" Lily murmured incredulously.  
  
James shook his head. "Don't ask."  
  
Once they'd caught up to rest of the group, the source of the voice was soon determined. It was a boy, roughly James' age, with extremely tousled black hair with hints of gray and weary-looking eyes. Neither James nor Lily had ever seen such an expression on someone so young, but both were silent. "I'm Remus," the boy volunteered, giving them a curious expression. "The last name's Lupin, but no one but my mother uses that, and only when she's mad." He grimaced. "So it's really just Remus. Et toi?"   
  
"It's James," James replied, not one for long introductions. "And this is Lily."  
  
"I can introduce myself, thank you," Lily interrupted. "I'm Lily Evans. Or just Evans, as James here seems to favour." She cast him an annoying glance. "Pleased to meet you, Remus."  
  
"And so I say the same," he replied graciously. "What's wrong with your friend, there?"  
  
"Oh, James?" she queried casually. "Who said he was my friend?"  
  
"Certainly not me," Remus replied with a smirk. As he did so, his eyes moved to the sky, focusing on the glittering stars, and finally on the brilliant full moon, which would form fully in nigh on an hour. An odd look appeared on his face, but the other two didn't seem to notice.  
  
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Lily said breathlessly. "I just love full moons, don't you?" She turned back to Remus, and her eyes met his worried expression. "Don't you?" she repeated uneasily.  
  
"Of course," Remus replied with a stutter. "Who doesn't? Anyhow," he continued, seeming eager to change the subject, "it seems it's our turn to get on a boat."  
  
"Odd kid," James whispered as Remus sprinted toward the boats.  
  
"And you aren't?" Lily muttered sarcastically. Perhaps she was just naturally drawn to people who seemed conflicted, but the new boy troubled her a bit. Anyway, it would be best to just let the issue go and load the… "Boats?" Lily asked, startled.  
  
"How else do you plan to cross the lake?" James replied, speaking as if she was idiotic. "Swim?"  
  
"No, I don't suppose so," she reasoned, still unsure. "They don't seem very safe." To this, James had no reply. Shuddering a little, they moved toward one of the boats. In the one they were about to board sat both Remus and Sirius, who were already engaged into a discussion about something or other.   
  
Trying to ignore the fierce cold and the chilling new experience that lay ahead, the quartet of acquaintances made their way toward the shore and castle of Hogwarts.  
  



	7. Reflections

The boats progressed slowly and steadily, showing no obvious signs of tipping over. Still, Lily wasn't quite ready to take any chances. With each foot across the lake and each jolt as the wind thrust angry waves onto the boat, she grew more and more frightened. However, being in the presence of boys who would no doubt tease her for any so-called "girly" actions, Lily remained uneasily silent. Even with the shaky progress, to her it seemed that they never got any closer to the shore.   
  
"Are we there yet?" moaned Sirius playfully. Lily giggled as her nerves relaxed a bit. Leave it to Sirius to jest at things she feared. Determined not to let fright overpower her, Lily searched her mind for other, perhaps more pleasant, thoughts. Obviously, of course, the only things that surfaced were thoughts of the day, not all of them completely pleasing. "Anything is better than this," Lily decided to herself. With a final glance at Sirius, who was pouting pitifully and trying to make the expressionless James and Remus laugh, Lily gazed absentmindedly ahead.   
  
James. Obviously, his name would be the first to emerge in her conflicted mind. After all, he was the first one she'd met throughout this long and often torturous day. With his keen mind and good heart, he had helped her…yet hurt her just when she was beginning to consider him a friend. James was a paradox of everything and anything about himself and the others. Just when he seemed to be emotionless, a cold and heartless boy with nothing better to do than taunt her and make her life miserable, a rare glint of affection would form in his eyes. Just when he seemed unintelligent, when his ignorance and inability to listen infuriated her, a wave of realization would seem to dawn. No, Lily decided, she really couldn't decide about James.   
  
Then, of course, there was Sirius. The thought of him made her smile, as his wit and humour did in her times of frustration. But, truly, what was there to Sirius? He seemed in constant mockery of himself and the world, a practical joker in even the gravest of matters. He wasn't shallow – Lily was reasonably sure of that. He really did have all the thought, all the emotion, but even that he was hiding. Lily was never sure of what to believe, of what was the true Sirius and what was some oddly placed joke. There was certainly more to him than met the eye. Yet what she was seeing, exactly, she couldn't quite determine.   
  
There was Remus, but she'd hardly met him. Even with the eternally calm demeanor, the kind yet abstract comments, the new boy slightly scared Lily. It wasn't a run-away-screaming scared, or the shivering fear that ran through her as she moved across the lake. It was a fear for Remus himself, a deep ominous feeling that there was something always bothering him or coming after him. Even with the uncaring smirks and casual comments, Lily saw it in his eyes. Those eyes much too weary for a boy of his age, the extremely premature patches of gray in his tousled hair…and most of all, how he had reacted to the full moon. At this point, Lily only became more confused, and her mind drifted from Remus for a while.   
  
Finally, her last acquaintance of the day (but really only her second), was Sybil Trelawney. There wasn't really much to say about Sybil, Lily supposed. Sybil had even more of an act than Sirius, and she seemed obsessive and morbid over the smallest details. With this idea in her mind, Lily decided that Sybil must not be as complex as the other three, but instead drew upon smaller things to make it seem so. The psychic powers, of course, had to be simple hogwash. Then again, hadn't Lily herself been acting on strange feelings and hunches?   
  
Lily's reflections were interrupted violently by the ending of the journey. "It's over," she said thankfully, mostly to herself, as she stepped from the boat. She saw the others (particularly Remus, she noticed vaguely) sprinting quickly into the castle.   
  
"But it's only just the beginning," murmured James from behind her.   
  
Startled, Lily turned. "Why are you always there?" she demanded angrily.   
  
"Didn't I tell you?" he teased, moving slowly ahead of her. "It's my personal responsibility to taunt you." With this, his pace quickened, and he followed the eager students toward the castle. "Aren't you coming, Evans?" he called over his shoulder.   
  
"In a minute!" Lily called back, impatient. With a last, inquisitive look at her own reflection in the lake, Lily hurried to join the others. 


	8. The Sorting

A/N: I know. I haven't posted a chapter in MONTHS, and I really doubt any of my original readers are still reading. However, please read this anyway...I'd really appreciate your reading (and hopefully reviewing) my story. 

James was the sort who seldom pondered anything. He acknowledged things, joked about them, and understood, but was usually complacent when he wasn't trying to be difficult. And so it was as much a surprise to him as to anyone when he began to worry about the Sorting. A hint of doubt crept into his mind, an emotion, like remorse, foreign to him until this fateful day. What if he didn't get sorted into Gryffindor? Slytherin tendencies had indeed been surfacing, almost unconsciously, in recent times. James crossed his fingers, usually a Muggle practice, and muttered his concerns under his breath.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked cautiously. Unaware she'd been watching him, James blinked and turned away. That girl was a menace! She cared all too much about him, and her attention bothered James immensely. He wasn't used to it, and he didn't want to be. As long as he remained calm (well, as calm as he _could _be) and halfway content, no one really pestered him except for constant scolding and discipline. That, however, he could expect. The boy was a genuine troublemaker, and didn't wish to be anything more.

"Nothing, Evans," he grumbled in reply. The cloud of emotion and wondering disturbed him even more. Was he changing? Was he actually uneasy about things? It was impossible. "I'm just worried about the Sorting." James' face turned pale. It had slipped out so easily, and he punched himself silently for voicing his thoughts. What in the world was wrong with him?

Lily brightened considerably. "Oh, is that all?"

"You're a Muggle-born, Evans!" James scoffed. "What would you know about it?"

"Nothing," she admitted. "But it just seems so trivial."

"You're one to talk, then," he replied dryly. "What sort of things do you worry about, Queen Evans?"

"People." Lily paused, gazing around the room, crowded with excited first years. "And sickness. Certainly not about ceremonies, and the like. I wouldn't give it a second thought. What does it matter, anyway? We're all going to the same school, aren't we?" 

"It matters more than you'd think, Evans. But you wouldn't understand."

"First of all, _James_, call me Lily. I thought we had that clear. And second of all…" With this, Lily stood taller, making eye contact with the boy. "Second of all, I understand plenty. I understand, but I'm the sort of person who wants a bit more than just knowledge." She gave him a quizzical look. "But I don't suppose you'd get that concept, the pureblood you are."

All James could do was gape, incredulous at her straightforward nature and slightly angry. Luckily for both of them, the conversation came to an awkward close by a third voice. Poised before the anxious crowd, adjusting her glasses nervously, a professor began to speak. She had long dark hair, neatly tied behind her head into a bun, and she seemed roughly 30 years older than the first years. 

"I am Professor Minerva McGonagall," she hissed sternly, somehow silencing the chaos. "You will see me often in your seven years here, and you dare not ever treat me with any less obedience than at this very moment. I will be difficult to get along with, and I doubt you'll try, but all the same you must learn to listen with little reply. Studious students are always the finest examples." With this, the professor gave a look toward James specifically. "I knew a lot of your parents in my school years," she murmured cautiously. "I can only hope you'll live up to their standards."

With these words, left echoing ominously in the hall, she drew an old and tattered hat from beneath a small chair. "The Sorting Hat." Rather than a sea of muttering, the words came as almost a solitary statement. The students knew their fate, dreaded it, but were curious all the same. And then, coming as a shock to even the most informed first years, the hat began to sing:

"Once in a year in days of old

Four geniuses were gathered

And these four set their sights to mold

An artifact quite tattered

Gryffindor, a noble man

Was surely my creator

He gave me much intelligence

Which I would use for later

The next step was Rowena's plan

Establishing my task

And so my sorting there began

As Ravenclaw had asked

Hufflepuff, the gentle soul

Devoted all her time

To aid me and to make me whole

And so taught me to rhyme

The last of the founders' whims

Was Slytherin's technique

He cut a hole within my brim

Allowing me to speak

And so the sortings then progressed

For new ones through the years

To choose which house would be the best

Step up, and do not fear!"

The hall burst into joyous applause; evidently, the Sorting was a sort of entertainment for the older students. The hat seemed to sit in silent glory for a moment, giving the frightened first years a chance to reflect on the song. Then, with a burst of enthusiasm, it boomed out a name:

"Abbot, Ronald!"

A thin, almost mouse-like, blonde-haired boy stepped up the hat, and Professor McGonagall placed the hat on his head. It seemed to contemplate for a moment, and Ronald fidgeted. Then, with a burst of energy, it shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF!" The Hufflepuff table erupted with applause, and the boy awkwardly walked toward his new classmates.

"Black, Sirius" ended up in Gryffindor. 

"Along with me," noted James smugly.

"What makes you think you'll be in Gryffindor?" grumbled Lily.

"I will. Don't doubt me." But even as he said the words, he eyed the Sorting Hat worriedly. 

"Evans, Lily!" James watched her as Lily moved cautiously toward the hat, sensing an air of confidence. He admired her ability to care little about the proceedings, but silently cursed himself. Obviously the Muggle-born girl wouldn't care – what was heritage and reputation to her? She hadn't come from a long line of prestigious wizards like he had. The Sorting Hat paused and screeched, "GRYFFINDOR!" as the table burst into cheers and applause.

James watched anxiously as his group of companions slowly disappeared as one by one dozens of names were called out. "Lupin, Remus!" the hat shouted. There was a moment of tense silence. No one stepped forward. James and the other first years gazed around, whispering nervously to one another. Remus seemed to have disappeared. Professor McGonagall darted her eyes around, angry that she'd already lost a first year. He'd be in for a week's detention at least for disturbing the ceremonies and embarrassing his professors... A calm-looking old man stepped forward and whispered something in McGonagall's ear. She shuddered, just slightly (and hardly enough for James to see if he wasn't watching so intently), raised the parchment again, and seemed to pretend that another student had just been sorted.

"What was _that_ about?" a stout boy behind him leaned forward to tell James. "No one ever misses the sorting," he said matter-of-factly. "I should know. My mum tells me absolutely everything about this wretched school." The boy proceeded to mutter something under his breath with a few nonsensical phrases like "Durmstrang" and "silly Gryffindor tradition" escaping his lips. James nodded, trying to be friendly, but sensing a certain...unpleasantness...about the boy all the same. Fortunately, the boy ("Pettigrew, Peter!) didn't stay for long, and was sent off to Gryffindor with nearly a score of his happy comrades.

And so, the moment of truth came, the two words that marked the beginning (and hopefully not the end) of James' wizardry career.

"Potter, James!"


End file.
